Trump's new customs chief reportedly wants asylum officers to turn more migrants away
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli reportedly wants his department to keep asylum seekers from crossing the border.
In an email to staffers sent Tuesday and obtained by BuzzFeed News, Cuccinelli wrote about how the current immigration system is being "abused" and how asylum officers need to crack down "to help stem the crisis and better secure the homeland." The message read like a stern reminder of how immigration process works, but to some Department of Homeland Security officials, it came across as a clear "threat" and downright "insane," BuzzFeed News reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Cuccinelli, an immigration hardliner, was appointed to lead USCIS following previous director Francis Cissna's June 1 ouster. Trump reportedly thought Cissna wasn't taking a harsh enough approach on immigration matters. As Tal Kopan of the San Francisco Chronicle tweeted, the directive in Cuccinelli's email "is precisely the type of thing Francis Cissna would not have done, because he would have followed legal procedures to try to make changes to adjudications."
-
Political cartoons for February 20Cartoons Friday’s political cartoons include just the ice, winter games, and more
-
Sepsis ‘breakthrough’: the world’s first targeted treatment?The Explainer New drug could reverse effects of sepsis, rather than trying to treat infection with antibiotics
-
James Van Der Beek obituary: fresh-faced Dawson’s Creek starIn The Spotlight Van Der Beek fronted one of the most successful teen dramas of the 90s – but his Dawson fame proved a double-edged sword
-
NIH director Bhattacharya tapped as acting CDC headSpeed Read Jay Bhattacharya, a critic of the CDC’s Covid-19 response, will now lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
